Earliest to market, and hence most ubiquitous, is IEEE 802.11b, which operates on an unlicensed basis in the 2.4 Ghzband with data rates of up to 11 Mbps. IEEE 802.11g, the technological successor to IEEE 802.11b, uses [Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing ("OFDM")] modulation and has data rates of up to 54 Mbps. It is also backward-compatible with IEEE 802.11b, such that WLANs can be configured using equipment manufactured according to either standard (although using both types of equipment together can reduce expected data rates). Finally, the IEEE 802.11a standard is used by WLAN equipment operating on an unlicensed basis using OFDM modulation in the 5 Ghz band.[9]

↑"[W]ireless technologies frequently are a more cost-effective solution for serving areas with less dense populations, and provide rural and remote regions new ways to connect to critical health, safety, and educational services." Id. at 13.